This invention relates to the use of marbles in an action toy to be played as a game by both children and adults, in order to develop skill and a competitive spirit. Loose marbles are unsafe when made available to children and when accessible to infants, and accordingly it is a general object of this invention to contain a multiplicity of playing marbles within the confines of the toy device. With the present invention, a number of marbles can be visibly contained and the accomplishments of the game are observed through transparent walls thereof.
The game to be played with this toy involves marbles of two or more distinguishable colors, one color for each player, and/or additionally a control marble of another or third color. The rules of the game can vary, however a basic objective of such a game is for a player to collect one color of marbles, to reject the other color or colors of marbles, and to avoid collecting the control marble. The expertise of the players is balanced against time in order to determine a winner, and it is skillful manipulation of the toy which produces the results. In practice, rotating, tilting and displacement motions are involved, there being relatively rotatable members that are tilted and that are displaced bodily for the application of force to throw the marbles for collection in a receiver. The marbles are contained within a transparent cylinder where they are thrown into and rejected from the receiver. It is preferred that the receiver rotate independently of the containment cylinder, for the rejection of a marble as may be required.
It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and practical action toy for the development of skill and competitive spirit, and a toy which is inherently safe. There are no loose marbles! With the present invention, all marbles are contained within a transparent cylinder, with no access and no openings therefor.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a marble receiver and target within the confines of the aforesaid containment cylinder, whereby skill is required for the collection of marbles, especially marbles of one color, and conversely the rejection by skill of marbles of other colors.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a means by which marbles of said other unwanted color are rejected with skill without loosing the marble of said wanted color. With the present invention the receiver is rotatable so as to dump marbles, dependent upon tilting, and the receiver is preferably rotatable within the containment cylinder to do so. In practice, the receiver is also transparent so as to observe the marbles collected therein.